The Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art stands in Serralves Park in Porto, Portugal. Álvaro Siza designed it for the Serralves Foundation, which signed his contract in March 1991. Construction began about five years later on the former vegetable gardens of the Serralves Estate, and the museum opened on June 6, 1999.
The building covers about 140,000 square feet (13,000 square meters) and has 14 galleries with 48,400 square feet (4,500 square meters) of exhibition space. It runs north to south. A central body with two wings forms a U around a patio, and an L-shaped structure creates a second patio. Three floors hold the library and auditorium, the exhibition rooms and bookshop, and a restaurant with an esplanade.
Exhibition halls have hardwood floors and gesso-painted walls with marble skirting, and exterior walls are clad in stone or stucco. Siza designed the furniture and fittings, including lighting and signage.
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